Lunja, the Female Trickster of the Kabyle / Amazigh Mythological Tradition

Abstract

The present paper examines one of the most famous female figures of the Kabyle/ Amazigh mythology, Lunja who has been invisible in the mainstream of academic concerns in Algeria and abroad. The few studies carried on the topic often portrayed her as a voiceless, submissive and an obedient beautiful young girl. We shall, however, try to “deconstruct” the prevailing fabricated image of this mythological character, Lunja, by emphasizing her various strategies of resistance and deviation of oppression. We shall also move beyond the previous approaches to history that narrates the relationship between Lunja and Teryel, her mother based solely on a dichotomy that has been described by the few studies since the old times. The objective is to show that Lunja’s performativityof silence is a technique with which she bypasses the constraints of her traditional society in transgressing its well established norms through actions. In so doing, Lunja can be regarded then as a female trickster and a subversive figure, who constantly calls into question the established order for the sake of changing her status quo. The analysis is mainly based on ideas and concepts such as gender performativity, which are provided in Judith Butler’s book entitled, Gender Trouble (1990). We also appropriate features and the image of Trickster according to Robert Pelton to show how the Kabyle/ Amazigh mythological figure Lunja constantly re-values the traditional norms and values through subversive actions that make her join the family of the female tricksters.